Neanderthals see red : production of red powder in the Late Mousterian in Ormesson, France

Les Bossats, near Ormesson, is a newly discovered late Mousterian site dated around 47.000 B.P. by thermoluminescence. The archaeological level, fossilized by loess, revealed a rich industry based on the discoide mode, associated with numerous fragments of red iron-rich rocks. The geological sources were identified by means of SEM-EDX, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, PIXE and by petrographical observation of thin sections. The past mechanical and morphological modifications of the pigment blocks were characterized by macro-photography, microscopy and topographical micro- measures of the used surfaces. It was thus possible to demonstrate that the colouring materials were selected in the neighbouring by the Neanderthals. Fourteen blocks and fragments show different use wears such as facets, grooves and scars. The Neanderthals implemented numerous techniques in order to produce preferentially red powder. The archaeological remains reveal an organized and versatile processing sequence of red ferruginous materials. During the late Mousterian a great phenomenon in expansion in western Europe is remarkable by the much wider exploitation of mineral red and black materials corresponding to technical modifications and divers utilizations under development